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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701841">when i say forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman'>joshllyman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Multi, Other, Polyamory</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:48:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,354</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22701841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He has, to some extent, given up on ever finding The One, as it were. Kinoshita and Kuroo found each other when they were only three and four, Akaashi found Futakuchi when they were in junior high, Shirabu and Yahaba when they were in high school. Since he started university he's heard of soulmate pairings finding each other at least once a month. Chikara is in his final year of college and still hasn't had any luck.<br/>And he's not convinced it's just one person, either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azumane Asahi/Ennoshita Chikara, Azumane Asahi/Ennoshita Chikara/Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>when i say forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crows_Imagine/gifts">Crows_Imagine</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy Valentine's Enno!!! I was your exchange partner &lt;3 &lt;3 I hope you enjoy!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>If Chikara focuses long enough, he can catch glimpses of his soulmate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>These glimpses are more confusing than anything else. His soulmate seems to change forms every time he catches sight of them. In one moment he imagines them tall and dark haired, braids woven intricately down their back and a crown twisted into their hair. In the next they sport shining silver hair and a laugh like the chiming of bells. And then they are sturdy, short dark hair and the hint of a beard in the scruff along their jaw. He can't ever remember their eyes or any defining features of their face, which does him absolutely no good in attempting to find them in this lifetime. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He has, to some extent, given up on ever finding The One, as it were. Kinoshita and Kuroo found each other when they were only three and four, Akaashi found Futakuchi when they were in junior high, Shirabu and Yahaba when they were in high school. Since he started university he's heard of soulmate pairings finding each other at least once a month. Chikara is in his final year of college and still hasn't had any luck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he's not convinced it's just one person, either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's the only way to explain it, he supposes. The fact that his visions are so constantly changing. There has to be more than one person with a claim on his soul. Having two soulmates isn't rare, but it is uncommon. He's never met anyone with three.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s certain, certain beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he has three. He thinks it’s one of those things that one just </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Kinoshita described it to him once, the way he knew Kuroo was his soulmate; he’d said even though they were so young he was drawn to the other boy, like a magnetic force was pulling them together. He hadn’t even been taught yet how to touch forearms in the right way to trigger the memories, and yet instinctually they both did so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The story Chikara was taught as a child, sitting on his aunt’s lap and looking up with wonder into her eyes, was that two opposing kings a long time ago were on the brink of war. The proper thing to do was to meet with the opponent before they sent their armies to war, to see if they could work things out. And so the kings met, and both were stubborn and certain their own way was right, and so nothing could be worked out. And just as they went to part, their forearms touched, and a light burst from between them, binding them together with magic. Together they stayed, stuck on neutral ground, neither able to return to their kingdoms or their armies, until eventually their stubbornness gave out and they fell in love with one another. They set aside their foolish ways and united their kingdoms to become stronger than ever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that’s why you touch forearms when you meet new people,” his aunt explained. “To check and see if they’re your soulmate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you and Auntie Akiara are soulmates?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes we are, dear. And we love each other very much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara sighs and stares up at his ceiling in the dark. Nearly everyone he knows has been paired off. In his lower moments he wonders if there’s anyone out there for him at all. Maybe his visions, his glimpses, are just a fluke, and he’s meant to be alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The alarm goes off, and Chikara nearly growls at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stayed up entirely too late last night watching some obscure movie one of the other film majors recommended to him last week, something about soulmates that had ended with the lovers dying without ever meeting. He’d let himself get caught up in thinking this morning; he is perfectly aware that this is his own fault. Kinoshita would lecture him if he were here, but he’s not, so Chikara imagines the beratement he’d get instead as he rolls out of bed and digs through the closet to find something clean-ish to wear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needs caffeine, he supposes. There’s a Starbucks he frequents on his way to campus that should suffice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s the thought of caramel and hazelnut that gets him through dressing, teeth-brushing, bag-packing, and getting out the door. Chikara’s thoughts on his way to campus are pretty much just </span>
  <em>
    <span>coffee coffee coffee</span>
  </em>
  <span> over and over in his head, repeated like a mantra to get him to keep walking toward campus and not back toward his apartment and his warm bed. He keeps his head down and barely listens to the words filtering into his ears from the podcast he’d chosen when he was half-asleep in his kitchen, before the cold slapped against his cheeks and forced him awake in the cruelest way possible. He adjusts his bag on his shoulder as he approaches the corner of campus that holds his Lord and Saviour the Caramel Macchiato. Finally he looks up as he reaches his destination‒and then immediately frowns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The line is out the door at the Starbucks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara’s fists curl at his sides. Coffee, sweet, sweet coffee is only meters away and he’s on the outside, in the cold, with none. It’s a crime. It’s a crime against humanity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a goddamn inconvenience is what it is, Chikara thinks with a sigh. In his head he flips off the Starbucks mermaid as he stalks away from the giant line. He slides his phone out of his pocket and types a search into Google: “coffee shops near me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first result is, of course, Starbucks, and Chikara spares another glare at the sign. The second result is a shop he’s never heard of that he assumes must be some local mom-and-pop type place. It’s close, just a few minutes walking. He lets his phone give him directions and starts for the shop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His thoughts are slightly jumbled now, the overarching idea still being </span>
  <em>
    <span>coffee</span>
  </em>
  <span> with underlying hints of grumbling irritation and existential despair. His phone successfully navigates him to the shop and he enters to find it significantly warmer than the outside. He shakes the cold out of his bones and looks up at the menu. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confusion ensues. The drinks all have incredibly bizarre names, names like “Warm Breeze on Sunday Morning” and “Fuzzy Socks by the Fireplace.” The ingredients are small and slightly difficult to read. The cashier takes pity on him as he stares upward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a small menu, here,” he says, picking one up and offering it in Chikara’s direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara swallows down his embarrassment and looks at the menu for a moment. When he looks up again the cashier is ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“May I help you?” he asks, his voice deep and quiet. He’s staring down at the counter rather than looking at Chikara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara frowns up at the menu. “The...Gentle Bear Hug? That has caramel, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does,” affirms the man. “It’s a dark roast with just a hint of sweetness. It’s one of my favorites.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara does a slight double take at the warmth in the man’s voice as he describes the drink, but he shakes off his bewilderment and continues. “Yeah, alright. A really big one of those.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Extra large Gentle Bear Hug, then. Would you like any extra shots?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six hundred and fifty yen, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara jams his credit card into the reader and removes it as the machine beeps at him. The cashier gives him a timid smile, looking up into his face for the first time. And then his eyes grow wide, and his hand flies up to cover his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s you,” he says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara blinks. “Do I know you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cashier turns his head and raises his voice. “Koutarou, would you mind covering the register? I think I have to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara stares in confusion as a man with spiked black and white hair and huge eyes comes bouncing up to the register. “Sure thing, Asahi! I’m your guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cashier‒Asahi‒gives him a gentle smile and a muttered “thank you” and steps around the counter. Chikara bids his coffee and any chance at a normal day goodbye, apparently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, what is happening?” Chikara asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asahi rolls up the sleeves on his flannel. “Something I imagine you’ve been waiting a long time for. I’m Azumane Asahi, and I’d like to get to know you, if that’s alright with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He extends his arm, bent at the elbow and hand clenched tight, toward Chikara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, thinks Chikara dumbly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This is it. This man, this Asahi, is the One. His soulmate, his other half. He knows it with certainty before they’ve even touched. He stares down at Asahi’s proffered forearm and imagines the moment their skin will meet. He’s heard it feels like sparks, like electricity, like nothing that can be described. After all his waiting and wondering and yearning‒is he even ready for this? Can one be ready to meet the person they’re meant to spend the rest of their life with?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sheds his jacket and drapes it over his shoulder, and slowly, slowly, he reaches out toward Asahi, mirroring his position with elbow bent and hand clenched. The skin of their forearms touches, and Chikara closes his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the flashbacks hit him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asahi, the king of a faraway country, kind and fair. A crown proud and prominent on his head, his hair in a long braid down his back. His shy smile much the same as it was when he was taking Chikara’s order, the same kindness in his eyes, a robe of deep purple adorning his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then‒</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s been right all along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are more, more of them, because in his vision appearing alongside Asahi are two others, one with silver hair and a laugh like the chime of a bell, and one with a sturdy jaw and a hint of a beard in the scruff on their face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My partners,” Asahi murmurs in real life, and Chikara realizes he’s seeing the same things in his own head. “We’ve been waiting for you for so long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suga‒the name comes to him automatically, and somehow he knows that they go by this nickname, that they only call them Koushi in their most intimate moments‒Asahi’s Monarch Consort, a thin crown in their own hair, laughter ringing out as they cause mischief, as they tease their partners gently, and the feeling of their slender hands wrapped around Chikara’s waist seizes him suddenly. He can’t breathe with it, but then‒</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daichi, the sturdy one, the head of the military. Chikara knows, instantly, how perfect he is for this job, how he leads with a strong hand and clear eyes. How he cares for each of his soldiers like they’re his own brothers, how he’s respected and loved by the entire kingdom, how he never leads them into a battle unless he knows they’ll win. And he knows the sensation of his strong hands on Chikara’s face, holding him close, the feeling of Daichi’s lips against his own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And‒Chikara himself was Asahi’s closest advisor, in this lifetime. The four of them were inseparable, a team of government that cared deeply for their citizens, that oversaw a period of economic growth, of advances in technology and arts and sciences, that forged the pathway for a bright and shining future for their country. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And although that was their first lifetime together, there are others. Flashing before Chikara’s eyes nearly faster than he can comprehend are lifetimes where they are soldiers, huddled together in the aftermath of battle; traveling entertainers, spending long days on the road from town to town, spending too-short nights resting in each others’ arms; pioneers, living far from society and creating their own way of life, just the four of them. It’s all so much, almost too much, until finally the visions stop. Chikara wrenches his eyes open and stares at Asahi, panting with exertion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know them already?” Chikara asks. “Suga and Daichi. You’ve met?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been waiting for you,” Asahi repeats. His arm drops back to his side, and Chikara does the same. “I met Suga when we were so young, and we met Daichi in high school, but we always knew there was one more of us out there. We knew your name, Chikara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chikara swallows hard. The idea that they know him, that they’ve known him, overwhelms his brain. He brings his opposite hand to the place where his forearm was connected to Asahi’s and rubs at it. “You were right, before,” he says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asahi tilts his head. “About what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have been waiting a long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he can lose his nerve, he stands up on his toes and pulls Asahi down in a chaste kiss. His lips burn with the contact, and he knows instantly which way to tilt his head, how to put his hand on the side of Asahi’s neck in the way that he loves so much. He pulls away and has to gasp for air. Asahi bites his lip shyly and shoves his hands in his pockets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come home with me,” Asahi says, and almost immediately his face reddens. It’s so sweet and endearing and Chikara’s heart melts in his chest. “I mean. If you want. Daichi and Suga are both home. You could‒”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Chikara says. He grasps Asahi’s face in his hands and feels the heat in his cheeks beneath his palms. “Yes, of course I’ll go with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Asahi looks down and away, his shy smile blooming over his face. Chikara wants to kiss it, wants to know every part of what makes this man tick, wants to know every inch of his skin beneath his fingertips. His hands itch with yearning, but as Asahi links their fingers together and pulls him out of the coffee shop, Chikara reminds himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They’ve got time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And for now, the feeling of Asahi’s hand in his own, the knowledge of Suga and Daichi waiting for him, yearning for him the way he’s yearned for them, is more than enough.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks always and forever to becca sam gray august lu and dylan, who deal with my constant need for validation all the time and like me anyway<br/>title from kesha's "finding you"<br/>(oh ho ho it's part of a series?!?! part two coming your way...at some point soon!!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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